Kaohsiung prepares to relocate polluted community

The Kaohsiung City government will launch surveys early next year in preparation for the relocation of a heavily polluted community in the city's Xiaogang District, a local government official said Sunday.

The surveys will include a census of the buildings in the Dalinpu area and will also find out whether the residents would prefer to be relocated collectively or individually, or live with their relatives, according to Lee Yi-der (???), director of the city's Urban Development Bureau.

He estimated that the relocation project will cost NT$60 billion, based on previous experience of relocating residents in the city's Hongmaogang area.

He pledged that no matter whether the Dalipu residents are relocated or not, the city government will continue to improve the living environment and reduce the environmental impact of the area.

The coastal community of more than 11,000 households, with approximately 20,000 people, is surrounded by 590 factories, with over 800 chimneys, including many petrochemical plants, an oil refinery belonging to the state-run CPC Corp., a power plant belonging to the state-owned Taiwan Power Company and a steel plant of China Steel Corp.